A/N: My intentions are to use this first story as a real introduction to Akira, as well as the series as a whole. I took very few liberties with diverging from canon in certain Disney worlds, such as Deep Jungle and Atlantica, but I hope to sprinkle enough main story content across the more canon-driven worlds to at least make them interesting!
The ringing sound of a gunshot was heard by every creature in the jungle; birds flew from the trees in fear as the animals swiftly hid in their burrows. But for the group of heroes, it signaled nothing but impending danger.
They rushed outside the tent with Tarzan by their side, anxiously searching for Clayton. They fervently hoped the gunshot they had heard hadn't succeeded in killing an innocent gorilla, but when they peered towards the entrance to the thicket, they realized they had much bigger problems on their hands. Slowly approaching the group with hungry yellow eyes, a group of monkey-like Heartless had entered the camp, their insignia clearly emblazoned on their chests.
"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed as he summoned his Keyblade.
"Not welcome," Tarzan said gruffly.
"Gawrsh, do you think they sensed darkness in this world?" Goofy asked, cowering behind his shield.
"Whatever it was doesn't matter, we've got to get rid of them!" Donald said as he readied a Thunder spell.
With Tarzan's help, they made quick work of the Heartless that poured from the thicket; yet, no matter how many they destroyed, more kept appearing. The group fought their way towards the thicket, hoping to perhaps find the source.
Yet, the only thing waiting for them was the rancorous leopard Sabor, the one Tarzan had scared off in the treehouse. Certainly, Sabor posed a threat, but the leopard was simply reacting to its animal instincts. Surely the Heartless weren't coming from him. And where exactly did that gunshot come from?
"W-wait. What about the Heartless?" Akira asked as the bloodthirsty beast slowly approached them, ready to pounce.
"No time!" Sora huffed, raising his Keyblade to block Sabor's leap as he lunged towards the group.
Watching the group struggle to fend off the predator was the young gorilla from the tree house, who backed away slowly as the leopard occupied itself with its new prey. The gorilla sprinted towards the camp, dodging the countless Heartless that attempted to scratch it with their claws. It rushed across the camp and burst into the main tent, rushing into Jane's arms for safety. Jane clutched onto the young gorilla in surprise and amazement, holding the terrified animal close to her as she sensed the danger from outside step into her tent…
After a short fight, the leopard fell over to its side in exhaustion, unconscious. Tarzan approached the beast and nodded solemnly, confirming its defeat.
"I don't understand," Sora began, "I wasn't hearing things, right? There was the sound of a gunshot that came from here. Why was Sabor waiting for us?"
Akira clapped her hands to her mouth. "You don't suppose…"
"A distraction!" Goofy posited.
"Clayton!" Tarzan snarled, bolting back towards the camp.
The group anxiously hurried back to the camp, only to find their suspicions had merit; the interior of the tent was trashed, and Jane was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh no, where's Jane?" Donald asked in a panic.
Tarzan quickly examined the mess; he shook various objects while bringing others to his nose to sniff for clues. "Something coming. Jane, danger. Jane near… near treehouse!"
"Sounds like trouble," Sora said firmly, "Let's go."
They hadn't quite reached the treehouse when they found Jane and the young gorilla amidst the tree tops, being kept prisoner behind a tangle of thick vines. She held the gorilla closely, patting its head in an attempt to calm it as she attempted to find a means of escape. "Tarzan!" she called from her prison..
Tarzan weaved his spear through the vines but to no avail; they were completely solid and weren't about to be moved any time soon. Akira attempted a fire spell to burn them off, but it was also ineffective.
"What are we going to do?" Donald asked as he attempted to pull the vines apart.
From the corner of his eye, Sora noticed an oddly shaped and strangely coloured fruit hanging from the branches. It was unlike any of the vegetation they encountered during their visit, which roused his suspicion further. As the others attempted to claw at the vines in vain, Sora summoned his Keyblade and raised it above his head, bringing it down on the fruit with all his strength. The fruit snapped from the branch and came crashing to the ground, fizzling away in a puff of strange black smoke. Sora covered his mouth so as not to inhale any of the toxic air, confirming his suspicion. No fruit would simply vanish in darkness after falling to the ground.
"The vines are gone!" Goofy exclaimed as Tarzan helped Jane and the gorilla out of their prison.
Sora walked over to join them. "That suspicious fruit was the cause," he explained.
Tarzan held Jane's hand as she used his strength to prop herself up, drained from her ordeal. "Clayton came to the camp," she said with bated breath, "And… that's all I remember."
"Gorillas trapped. Terk ran," Tarzan continued explaining.
"Don't tell me this was another distraction!" Akira exclaimed.
"No doubt, he knew we'd hurry to help Jane while he rounded up all the gorillas," Sora said, scowling.
"Please, you must help the gorillas!" Jane pleaded, the young gorilla still clung to her side in fear.
Sora nodded, echoing his comrades' sentiments. Clayton had brought darkness and evil to this otherwise peaceful world, and they wouldn't stand for it.
By the cliff past the bamboo thicket, a massive band of gorillas had been rounded up and cornered, shaking fearfully as hordes of Heartless closed in on them. The Heartless attacked any gorilla that dared to attempt an escape, keeping their prey corralled as their leader watched over them with a sly grin. Clayton casually loaded and cocked his rifle, examining each frightened gorilla as he selected the one he would use his precious first bullet on. His eyes zeroed in on the female gorilla beside Kerchak, a kind and peaceful gorilla named Kala, and the one who raised Tarzan when he was but an infant. Kerchak roared in anger, but countless Heartless swarmed him, halting his attempt to save her. With a smirk, Clayton raised his rifle, pointing it directly to her as he placed a finger on the trigger.
"No!" Sora cried.
Angered, Clayton lowered his weapon, baring his teeth angrily at the group that had just stormed his gathering. Kerchak and Kala took this opportunity to escape beyond the cliff, the other cornered gorillas following closely behind as the Heartless focused on Clayton's new targets.
"Clayton?" Akira asked in confusion. The man looked like Clayton, but he no longer exuded an air of simple disinterest. His heart was black with corruption, and his composure reflected it.
"Not Clayton!" Tarzan said firmly. He said something angrily in the foreign language before repeating again, "Not Clayton!"
Clayton raised his rifle to the group, gritting his teeth. They barely had enough time to jump away before he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the trees. Tarzan attempted to knock the rifle out of his hands while the others dealt with the Heartless in the vicinity. The Heartless were of the same monkey-like variety they had encountered earlier and posed little to no threat. Tarzan couldn't manage separating Clayton from his weapon, but he was able to distract him long enough for the others to finish off his Heartless lackeys. Soon, Clayton was alone and found himself surrounded.
He stood with his back against the rocky wall without expression as they advanced towards him, weapons drawn. Suddenly, the wall behind him cracked and exploded with such force, it destroyed the enclosure as it revealed a cliffside overlooking a majestic waterfall.
"What… How did that happen?" Sora asked.
He received his answer as soon as he questioned it. He was suddenly knocked back by a massive force, crashing into a nearby wall. Akira, Donald, and Goofy gasped at the sudden attack, unable to process what had just happened until they suddenly witnessed Tarzan suffer the same fate.
"What's going on?" Donald quacked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Akira noticed Clayton smirk at them. How is he doing this? How could he manage so forceful an attack while standing so peacefully at a distance? Her mind raced as she worried for her friends, whom were still recovering from the blows they were dealt.
A devious trick. Unsurprising for someone who willingly opened their heart to the darkness.
She gripped her staff tightly in her hands. "What do I do?" she asked desperately.
Well... it is just another Heartless, isn't it?
She shook her head as she watched Goofy get tossed off his feet despite carefully protecting himself with his shield. Clayton's grin grew wider with each passing moment, laughing wickedly as he loaded bullets into his rifle. As the seconds ticked by, her anxiety grew. She panted as the rising fear sapped her breath, flinching as she heard the sound of a low and menacing growl at her side.
Wait... a growl? And if it really was just another Heartless, then...
"The Heartless… it's invisible!" she cried.
Sure enough, two green lights appeared out of thin air beside her; she dashed as far as she could as the Heartless charged up, releasing devastating lasers that burned through the ground. They were able to feel the shockwaves as the Heartless pounded the ground, further cementing her theory.
"How are we supposed to attack it if it's invisible, then?" Donald asked, in a state of disarray after having just cast a fire spell that missed completely.
Akira inhaled deeply. "By being very brave and trusting me," she said with a cracked voice, fervently praying he'd do as she told.
Within an instant, she scooped the duck in her arms, ignoring his angry quacks as she searched for a safe spot to stand until the time was right.
Donald let out a string of angry and unintelligible quacks. "What are you doing? Put me down!"
The Heartless began to charge up its green lasers again and she saw her chance. While the Heartless was immobile and visibly showing its location, Akira threw the screeching duck as hard as she could, hoping she aimed him well enough to land on the enemy's head.
Donald was able to grab hold of the monster's head, holding on for dear life as he shrieked. The Heartless, distracted by the sudden small weight on its head, flailed in confusion, releasing its green laser on the ground by Akira's feet and sending her flying into the air. She crashed into a nearby rocky wall, pain shooting through her back.
"Akira, what do you think you're doing?" Sora yelled as he rushed to her side and pulled on her arm, helping her at least get on all fours.
"Follow Donald," she said as her breath caught, "He'll show us where the Heartless is."
And sure enough, he did. Amidst his screeches, Donald held onto the Heartless as he rode it, effectively always showing them its location. Sora shook his head. It was a stupid idea, but it was all they had right now.
"Stay here," he said to her, "We'll handle the rest."
She nodded as she got to her feet, holding the wall for support, while Sora and Goofy lunged at the Heartless. Amidst the fight, Tarzan was locked in battle with Clayton, dodging every round he shot as he attempted to destroy his rifle.
With a few powerful blows, Sora and Goofy were able to stop the Heartless in its tracks. Donald smacked the beast's head with his staff repeatedly, throwing out a few fire spells in between jabs. Sora quickly delivered the final blow with a swift flick of his Keyblade. As it staggered on its hind legs and grabbed its head in pain, its invisibility slowly wore off, revealing a frighteningly large chameleon-like Heartless. Donald hopped off its head and rejoined his comrades with Akira steadily approaching from behind.
Tarzan managed to slink his spear between Clayton and his rifle, separating the two as he kicked Clayton back towards his Heartless ally. Clayton shouted in anger, pointing his finger to the Heartless. "Lazy beast!" he yelled angrily.
Almost like karmic justice, the massive Heartless couldn't hold itself up any longer and came crashing down on top of Clayton, completely knocked out. The group gazed in horror and relief as the two of them disappeared in darkness, releasing a familiar crystal heart in the process.
Sora rubbed the back of his head. "It was pretty brave of you to stay on that Heartless' head," he said as he addressed Donald, refusing to look him in the eye.
Donald did the same and looked away. "It was pretty heroic of you to defeat it."
Their brief moment of gratitude was quickly interrupted by the gorillas they had managed to save before their battle began. They watched earnestly as the gorillas slowly approached them, not seeming to show any fear of them. Their leader, the gorilla named Kerchak whom Tarzan had addressed before, stoically approached the group; he came to a halt in front of them before grabbing Sora and launching him towards the cliffside, repeating the same for Akira, Donald, and Goofy. They surprisingly all landed on their feet as Tarzan climbed the trees to join them, glowing with happiness as he did. The gorillas turned to leave the area, following Kerchak through the thicket, as the group took in the beautiful sight of the waterfalls by the cliffside.
Tarzan smiled. "Tarzan, home."
"Tarzan, this is your home?" Jane said as she joined them by the cliffside with the young gorilla guiding her towards them. Tarzan nodded and gestured towards an opening in the wall, beckoning as if to lead them further inside, with the young gorilla excitedly pulling at Jane's hand as she led her into the cavern.
"Wow, I guess the gorillas trust us enough to let us into their home," Goofy said with a wide grin.
"Of course! Donald quacked, walking ahead, "We did rescue them from Clayton and the Heartless."
"I can't wait to see what it looks like," Sora said in awe as he followed Donald and Goofy towards the cavern, with Akira following closely behind.
That was quite courageous of you, wouldn't you say?
She smirked and shook her head. "Donald was the courageous one. I didn't do much."
You need to learn to take a compliment.
Akira said nothing in response as she scurried ahead to join her comrades.
The opening led them to a beautiful cavern behind the waterfalls, the rocks lined with moss and small vines. The crashing sound of the waterfalls was oddly calming as they climbed to the top of the caverns, where a small cave stayed hidden among a tangle of vines. A radiant nest of magnificent blue butterflies lay on a massive tree trunk, filling the small cave with a pleasant glow.
"This is your home?" Sora asked as he took in the sight, "But that means…"
Tarzan placed a hand to his ear and gestured for Sora to do the same, wordlessly asking him to listen to the sounds of the crashing waterfall outside.
"The waterfalls. They're echoing all the way here," Jane said in amazement.
Tarzan repeated the same foreign word that had perplexed the group since the beginning. "Friends there. See friends."
Jane gasped. "Oh, now I've got it! That word means heart. Friends in our hearts…"
"Heart," Tarzan repeated with a grin.
"Oh, so that's what it meant…" Sora said in a disappointed tone.
"Friends, same heart. Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends," Tarzan explained.
Sora rubbed the back of his head as the guilt he felt in his heart washed over him. He took a deep breath and turned to face Donald. "Sorry about what I said before."
"I'm sorry too," Donald responded apologetically.
Akira and Goofy smiled at each other, happy that their friends were able to see past their differences. Goofy pulled them all into a loose hug as he chuckled. "Yeah, all for one, huh?"
Sora nodded happily to his friends as he left their embrace and walked over to the nest of butterflies. As he approached them, they scattered away in a brilliant shade of blue, revealing a shining Keyhole amidst the tree trunk. Copying his previous actions with the one in Wonderland, he raised his Keyblade and a brilliant light erupted from the tip as the sound of a locking door rang through the air.
The young gorilla left Jane's side and made its way over to Donald, opening its small palm before him.
"A gummi!" Donald exclaimed as he took the small green block from the gorilla's hand, "Thank you."
The gorilla nodded happily as it brought its face to Donald's, nuzzling his cheek. Donald quacked in surprise as he stood frozen, unable to figure out what to do next.
"Looks like someone has a new admirer," Jane said with a giggle.
"No, no, no! Daisy would kill me!" Donald exclaimed as he quickly backed away from the young gorilla.
They all laughed together at Donald's unfortunate predicament, but Akira was interrupted by a blue butterfly that had descended from the trees, gazing curiously at it as it fluttered fairly close to her face. She reached out her finger, offering it as a perch and taking care not to make a sudden movement as the butterfly gently landed. She gazed in wonder at its beauty; amidst the blue hue of its wings, a large dark circle was printed in the middle of each wing surrounded by golden hues. It almost seemed as if the wings had eyes of their own and watched her just as curiously as she watched them. Sora approached her, taking in the butterfly's beauty from a safe distance so as not to frighten it.
"You know, I was so scared at first," she said, not taking her eyes of the butterfly's mesmerizing wings, "I wanted nothing more than to see the outside world, but I also wanted the safety of knowing I can go home at any time."
The butterfly flew off towards the trees as she continued. "I guess I never realized that, no matter how dangerous these other worlds were, they could also be so beautiful."
Sora nodded and smiled softly. "I'm sure wherever Riku and Kairi are is beautiful as well."
The witch with violet lips impatiently tapped the crystal orb at the tip of her staff as three shadowy figures gathered around the selfsame table where they observed Sora from afar.
"What drew the Heartless to that world?" the one in the middle asked, stroking his small beard.
"The hunter lured them there," the witch explained as she stepped further into the glow of the table, her black horns shining amidst the dim light, "It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good."
"Yeah, he got chomped instead!" the one on the left said with a hearty laugh as he slapped his large belly.
The bearded villain clutched his snake staff and scoffed. "A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless. But the boy is a problem. He found one of the Keyholes."
The witch shook her head. "Fear not. It will take him ages to find the rest. Besides, he remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."
"Yes, the princesses…" the massive octopus woman hissed.
"They are falling into our hands one by one," the witch said with a smile, "Speaking of which…"
Out of the corner of the witch's eye, a young girl in a blue pinafore dress clutched her chest in fear, her legs shaking as she held herself up against the wall. Alice felt the burning gaze of the villains before her as she fervently prayed for her safety.
"I guess we had better get going," Sora said as he put his hands behind his head. They had made their way back to camp, and it was time for the group to continue their journey.
"Sora, Tarzan, friends," Tarzan said with a smile as he nodded towards the brown-haired teen.
They exchanged a few pleasantries before they said their final goodbyes and set off towards their gummi ship, which Donald swore was somewhere amidst the bamboo thicket.
"I wonder what these gummi blocks are used for," Akira wondered out loud.
"Maybe Leon'll know," Goofy said as he raised a finger in the air, "We should go back to Traverse Town and ask him."
"I wanna be pilot!" Sora said excitedly.
Donald scowled at him. "No! Stop it!"
Sora scoffed at his answer. "Oh, come on! I'm the Keyblade master!"
"I don't care who you are!" Donald quacked angrily, "The answer is no!"
Akira slumped her shoulders with a defeated look on her face as Goofy laughed at the scene unfolding before them. "Here we go again…" she muttered.